Health care overhaul will be a priority for President-elect Barack Obama, but a new set of cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office lays out more than a few fiscal challenges for lawmakers hoping to write legislation.

Health care coverage and quality could be improved by reducing the oversupply of health care services in high spending regions of the country, promoting organized systems of care and giving patients more information about the full range of treatment options available, according to a new Dartmouth Atlas white paper.

State officials in California, looking to patch a gaping hole in the state's budget, will try in 2009 to cut costs by scratching ineligible recipients from its Medicaid rolls. But those efforts may actually wind up costing the state more, according to a new study.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who chairs a subcommittee that will be influential in efforts to overhaul the health care system, said that any plan must include a new government-run health insurance option, modeled on Medicare, that would compete with private insurers.

Mission

The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.